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National Match-funded Money

Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which schemes the national match-funded money has been spent on in each year since modulation was introduced; and how much has been spent on each scheme. [25786]

Angela E. Smith: The schemes and associated amounts on which modulation match funding has been spent in each year since the introduction of modulation are detailed in the following table.

	Financial year (£)
Scheme name	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06 (to date)
Environmentally Sensitive Area Scheme	—	13,540.14	149,095.20	198,895.29	130,282.94
Organic Farming Scheme	98,604.63	51,234.89	44,631.11	24,271.23	53,992.83
Countryside Management Scheme	—	473,977.67	1,041,198.55	1,608,446.91	770,999.76
Farm Woodland Premium Scheme	47,501.67	80,541.14	122,848.61	140,577.70	—
Short Rotation Coppice Challenge Fund	—	—	—	—	59,667.25
Total	146,106.30	619,293.84	1,357,773.47	1,972,191.13	955,275.53

 
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NHS Complaints

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been made against general practitioners in the Province in each of the last five years. [24860]

Mr. Woodward: The information requested is as follows:

	Number of complaints
2000–01	(27)314
2001–02	(28)536
2002–03	611
2003–04	587
2004–05	665

⁽²⁷⁾ no figures available for WHS SB or SHSSB areas during 2000–01
⁽²⁸⁾ no figures available for SHSSB area during 2001–02

Northern Area Plan

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the draft Northern Area Plan in Northern Ireland; and how many individuals have been affected because their planning application has been either deferred or refused as a result. [25712]

Angela E. Smith: The closing date for receipt of representations on the Northern Area Plan (NAP) was 6 July 2005. To date, 5,600 representations on the plan have been recorded and these are currently being analysed. It is likely that these will require to be addressed through the public inquiry process for NAP. It is too early in the process to give an indication of when a public inquiry will be held.

The Planning (Development Plans) Regulations (NI) 1991, as amended, requires the Department to make copies of all objections to a development plan available for inspection prior to the inquiry. Copies of the representations will be put on public display as soon as possible and the Department will invite counter-objections, which must be submitted within an 8-week period.

Approximately 350 planning applications have been affected by the draft NAP. Of that, 81 have the draft NAP as the sole reason for refusal. It should be noted that many of these applications are by the same applicant.

Planning Enforcement

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many planning enforcement officers there are in each area of Northern Ireland. [25219]

Angela E. Smith: The number of enforcement officers by Divisional Planning Office is set out in the following table.
 
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Division	Number of enforcement officers
Ballymena	7.5
Belfast	5.0
Craigavon	6.5
Downpatrick	3.0
Coleraine/Londonderry	9.5
Omagh/Enniskillen	7.5
HQ Special Studies Section	4
Total	43

Police Service

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many industrial tribunal applications were lodged against the Police Service of Northern Ireland in 2004–05; and what the status is of each case. [25153]

Angela E. Smith: During 2004–05 there were 61 individual applications registered against the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The status of these is that 16 applications were withdrawn and 45 remain current.

Porphyria

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what treatment is available on the NHS in Northern Ireland for porphyria variegate; how many consultants in the Province specialise in this area of medicine; how many sufferers there are in the Province; and if he will make a statement. [24982]

Mr. Woodward: Variegate porphyria is a very rare condition. Patients suffering from this disease can vary greatly in their clinical symptoms and therefore are likely to receive treatment from clinicians in a number of specialties including general medicine and dermatology. The symptoms of this illness can be severe however many adverse effects can be reduced or avoided by prompt diagnosis, sustained intervention and monitoring. The first line of treatment is to avoid factors which trigger acute attacks and there is also specific treatment for difficult cases. This treatment is all available within the HPSS in Northern Ireland.

There are two consultants in Northern Ireland who have an interest in inherited metabolic disorders of this type. Information on the number of patients in the Northern Ireland suffering from variegate porphyria is not available centrally but is thought to be very small.

Prisons

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of maintaining the prison population in Northern Ireland in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; and what the average cost per prisoner was in each year. [24154]

Mr. Woodward: The hon. Gentleman asks for the average cost per prisoner. The Northern Ireland Prison Service NIPS) does not publish figures for the average
 
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cost per prisoner in its annual report and accounts. The Northern Ireland prison service uses the average cost per prisoner place, which is one of the service's key PSA targets agreed with Treasury.

The net cost of operations and CPPP for the financial years requested are:

Financial year	Net cost of operations (£000)	CPPP(£)
2003–04	112,461	81,426
2004–05	115,495	85,935

In 2003–04 the CPPP target was £83,275 and 2004–05 was £86,800. The Northern Ireland Prison Service achieved the target in both years.

Property Valuations

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to bring forward legislation to introduce a discrete capital value system of local taxation in Northern Ireland. [24592]

Angela E. Smith: The first of two Orders in Council to give effect to a range of rating reforms in April 2007, including the change from rental to capital values for domestic property, was published for consultation on 7 October. The draft Rates (Capital Values, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 provides for the determination, publication and revision of the capital values of domestic property in Northern Ireland. These capital values will be published in April 2006. The second Order in Council will be published for consultation next year.

Pupil Expulsions

Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used in the decision to expel a pupil in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) grammar school in the (i) controlled, (ii) maintained, (iii) integrated and (iv) voluntary sectors of education. [25763]

Angela E. Smith: The Department of Education has not issued criteria to be used in the decision to expel a pupil from any school in Northern Ireland.

All schools are required by law to have a discipline policy, which sets out sanctions, including expulsion, which the school will impose for breaches of school discipline. It is for individual schools to draw up their own discipline policy, including the criteria they will use in decisions to expel a pupil from school.

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